Watchers of Patek Philippe have been waiting to see what would replace the blue-dialled stainless-steel Nautilus 571 that the Genevan watchmaker so summarily cut from the catalogue, making it the watch with the single widest gap between demand and supply ever known (save, of course, the Tiffany dial version). Three years later, we have the answer - the Cubitus, arriving in three forms: the 5821A in steel, the 5821AR in steel and gold and the 5822P Grand Date platinum.
Almost inevitably, news of the Cubitus leaked before the official launch, prompting an avalanche of calls to the brand’s dealers, who have the unenviable task of allocating a reported one per store to clients (be very careful of anyone claiming to be able to source one as is already the case online). Aside from the predictable frenzy though, the Cubitus is quite the intriguing package.
The 5821/5822 case is the first really new case shape from Patek Philippe since the Aquanaut in 1997 and the original Twenty-4 in 1999 (and its 2018 refresh). It’s a bold design that harks back to the parts of 1970s watch design that Gerald Genta (designer of the original Nautilus, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and many others) didn’t touch, though there’s just a hint of the short-lived, square Royal Oak in the flat square bezel. And it’s the most masculine, rather than macho, design I’ve seen in years. That said, it’s very much a son of Nautilus in its overall look, and there are Nautilus touches in terms of the bracelet attachment and the louvre bands on the dial, a detail that’s repeated on the winding rotors visible through the back of the watch.
Patek say they’ve been working on the idea for years as a concept, but couldn’t execute the idea to the satisfaction of Thierry Stern (the president of the business). Stern wanted a lower profile to offset the increase in size that a square shape involves, without compromising on the levels of security and robustness – you can’t dive with the Cubitus but it will cope with anything else. It then took three years of refining the details so that the watch sits flat enough on the wrist. M. Stern’s other requirement was that there had to be a new movement, which is the ‘Calibre 240 PS CI J LU Instantaneous Grand Date, Day and Moon Phases.' The extra functions add a mere 0.77mm to the height of the movement, while the majority of the design work went into the date changes.
Prices are £35,330 for the 5821A, £52,480 for the 5821AR and £75,690 for the 5822P
